John's worst album?

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 10:23 am

All of them! ;p

congerz83 · Post by **congerz83** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 10:35 am

Ouch.

expomick · Post by **expomick** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 11:02 am

Blasphemy! How dare you...why, I outta...

Even though you're joking, I want it publicly stated that I rather enjoy the "Sometime In New York" album. That release usually gets dumped on.

There, I feel better. Thanks for being there for me.

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 11:23 am

I do like the Lennon Anthology, the stripped down versions.

But generally I think his solo albums sound as though his voice wasn't in shape, his melodies are pedestrian or rock cliched (How Do You Sleep, Cold Turkey, bridge in Beautiful Boy, on and on); his production is bland as well as his backup band(s).

I know he's a Rock and Roll saint for dying young and having a bad attitude and drug habit, but I think he really needed Pauly more than Yoko, career wise.

Not Beatle-par songs, either. Christmas/War Is Over is a ripped off melody.

I imagine "Imagine" could have made a Beatles album, with the other three improving it by playing their traditional parts.

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 11:50 am

I didn't mean to be caustic. But Beatle John's music was my favorite, so to me he had the furthest to fall.

lyle_from_minneapolis · Thu Dec 07, 2006 11:55 am

At least we were spared of watching the Beatles stay together and eventually slip into creative entropy. Imagine their disco period, or their 80's era, or their concert tour with Sting, Bono and Phil Collins. Sometimes its best to leave at the top of your game.

randyz · Post by **randyz** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 12:13 pm

Well, I played the grooves off 'Plastic Ono Band' and 'Imagine' back in the 1970's. I no longer own a copy of 'Sometime In New York', although I'll admit it contains a few guilty pleasures for me. 'Mind Games' and 'Walls and Bridges' aren't very satisfying for me anymore. I loved 'Rock n Roll' when it came out, but I wouldn't listen to it today. Never did buy a copy of his last album. He sounded better as a Beatle...

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 12:17 pm

Worst? Gotta be "Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins"

If you can even call it an album. Self indulgent sillyness IMHO.

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:35 pm

I wouldn't consider Two Virgins or Life with the Lions as real solo albums. Sometime In New York is pretty bad and Mind Games to me is mind numbing. I really enjoyed Walls and Bridges and The Plastic Ono band was really a great album. Imagine was a good album.

jdogric12 · Post by **jdogric12** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 2:09 pm

I have to admit I know little about post-Beatles Beatle recordings. I only have "Band on the Run," "Flaming Pie," and "Double Fantasy," but what is so great about the Beatles is they didn't do the whole "fade away" thing (as mentioned in the film "High Fidelity").

jwh · Post by **jwh** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 2:55 pm

Sometime in New York City is probably the worst to me. I really never could appreciate Elephants Memory Band.

lennonon · Post by **lennonon** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 6:01 pm

"Some Time In New York City" isn't simply a bad (Horrendous) album...it's one of the worst mistakes of Lennon's career. It alienated him from his British fans for years and was filled with ***** songs, lousy melodies, rush recordings - all the worst extremes of Lennon.

Let's face it, after "Imagine" his output was pretty spotty. It's just much easier to appreciate his music because, even when it was inconsistent (Mind games, Wall & Bridges) he still wrote and recorded in a very GENUINE fashion It's easier to pick out the good, perhaps great songs on his albums than on his former partners just by virtue of selectivity. Lennon didn't put out every POS he ever dreamt up and add strings to it and pump it up with a sing-a-long chorus.

Even when he sucked, he was pretty honest.

Pauly on the other hand....

studiotwosession · Post by **studiotwosession** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 6:04 pm

Sometime in NYC, horrible. Right down there with Wings at the Speed of Sound.

chucksimms · Post by **chucksimms** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 6:53 pm

I think the first two real albums (Plastic Ono Band and Imagine) are great by anyone's standard. In recent years I've come to rate Walls and Bridges as very nearly their equal. To my ears, Rock and Roll, Mind Games and Double Fantasy, with the exception of a very few tracks, don't work. Sometime in New York City is difficult to like even with the few songs that are decent.

expomick · Post by **expomick** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 8:03 pm

Luck of the Irish and Angela...I enjoy those two songs. For some reason, I like that album.

But I also really like Walls and Bridges, probably as it was the first album I ever owned on (purple coloured) 8-track.